Crime on campus took a turn for the worst this weekend when a party at the Cougar Den resulted in several arrests including a felony weapons charge.

Zachary Chatman, a UH football player, was arrested early Sunday morning and charged with a felony violation for possession of a firearm on university property.

Police arrested Chatman after receiving a tip from an area resident that several students were planning on getting guns. Officer Robert Finley and Officer Joe Marquez of UHPD confronted the students in a parking lot on campus.

UHPD Lt. Brad Wigtil said, "The officers saw Chatman trying to hide the gun and ordered the other four out of the back of the truck."

Two .9mm pistols were confiscated by police, but only Chatman was arrested because none of the others were seen with a weapon. Chatman was later turned over to the Houston Police Department and was out on bail on Sunday.

Chatman was placed on interim suspension by UH. He will remain on suspension pending the outcome of a student disciplinary hearing, which could result in his permanent expulsion from the university according to a statement issued by UH on Monday.

Rudy Davalos, the director of athletics, said "[Chatman] has been suspended from the team effective Monday. We will not tolerate any activity of this type."

The weapons charge was the most serious, but not the only violation on campus Saturday night.

Byron Brown, 21, was arrested for assault, a Class A misdemeanor after being denied admittance to the overcrowded Cougar Den. Brown became angry and struck Karen Haggerty who was working at the party's entrance.

UHPD Officer Derrick McClinton witnessed the event and arrested Brown. Brown was later turned over to HPD.

Dava Lee Sision, 27, was also arrested at the party. Sision had apparently been in a fight and was approached by Officer Marquez. Sision attempted to get into another fight and, while being restrained, hit Officer Finley. Sision was arrested and charged with resisting arrest. He was later turned over to HPD.

John Blackman, 22, and Jamie Mouton, 22, were also arrested for disorderly conduct. They were fighting when police finally broke up the party. Both were issued citations for Class C misdemeanors and were released.

All students involved in the incidents will be reviewed immediately for university disciplinary action according to a statement issued Monday.

UH President James H. Pickering said in a statement Monday, "The university supports and encourages student organizations to hold events and social gatherings on the campus. Such activities are an important and welcome addition to campus life. However, the campus and external community must understand that any threat to safety and security, such as occurred this weekend, will not be tolerated."

Vice President for Student Affairs Elwyn Lee said that any person in possession of a firearm on university property is committing a felony and will be punished according to the law. He also warned that possession of a firearm on campus violates the university's student life code and will be subject to immediate suspension and to further student disciplinary action, including expulsion.

An immediate moratorium on certain campus events is being put into effect. Large scale student functions designed primarily to raise funds from non-university attendants will be cancelled. "We plan to review these events to determine if in the future we should host such events on campus, and if so, what security precautions must be in place to ensure the safety of our students and community," Lee said.

The university is also reviewing its alcohol-usage policy to ensure that the only alcohol consumed on campus will be in campus restaurants or at sanctioned events.

The Task Force on Student Organization Social Functions, established earlier this summer, is reviewing current policies and procedures on student organization functions on campus and will recommend changes to enhance the safety and security of those events. It also plans to recommend a system of progressive disciplinary actions to apply to sponsors of student functions which violate established policy.

Pickering said, "Let me emphasize that our highest priority is the safety of the students, faculty and staff of the university, as well as guests and visitors to the campus. We were shocked at last weekend's incidents and were disturbed by the weapons charge. We are committed to make certain that it won't happen again."

Two of the warrants are in Montgomery County for theft-by-check and for violation of probation on a sexual assault charge. The remaining warrant is in Harris County for writing bad checks, Wigtil said.

While Gregson was at the UHPD station, Officer Dennis Book completed UH's own investigation on two alleged check forgeries and later had the district attorney's office accept the charges.

A complaint about the forgeries, a third-degree felony, was filed by a 24-year-old UH student who alleges his checkbook was stolen by Gregson.

Two of the student's checks were taken and cashed in the amounts of $600 and $400 at the Enterprise Bank branch in the University Center, Wigtil said. However, there is no bond pending for the charges.

"It is unusual that there is no bond," Wigtil said. "You can embezzle a million dollars, and they rarely use a 'no bond.' "

Gregson, 27, has also been living in Moody Towers allegedly without any payment to UH's Housing Department and sometimes goes by the alias Pete Gregson, said a source who wished to remain anonymous.

Among the places that had the misfortune to try and cash one of Gregson's alleged bad checks is the Chinese Star Restaurant on Calhoun.

A check was written for $19.43 in January and was invalid because of a closed bank account according to the restaurant's manager Priacella Yang.

UHPD was informed of Gregson's existence in the dormitory through a South Tower desk attendant.

Gregson is not enrolled at UH and hasn't been since fall 1991 as a sophomore, an Office of Admissions official said.

Gregson was also a floor manager for the UH Telefund while he was a student at UH and posed no problems while participating in the work-study program, said Michael Lawler, Gregson's boss at the time.

After being processed at UH, Gregson will be transported to the Harris County Jail for a charge pending in Precinct 4. He may later be transported to Montgomery County for pending charges, Wigtil said.

Bond on the theft-by-check charge is set at $500; bond for the bad- check charge is set at $200 and there is no bond on the violation-of-probation charge.

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NEW DIRECTORIES TO MAKE APPEARANCE ON CAMPUS

by Deborah Hensel

Daily Cougar Staff

Campus telephone directories with new information on students, faculty and staff will be available by mid-October, Dick Cigler said, director of campus publications.

Since ad sales were completed the second week in August, Cigler said a print date now hinges on the release of computer tapes containing updated phone and address listings.

These tapes will be supplied by the Telecommunications Department 12 days after the beginning of classes to allow for adds and drops to be processed.

Cigler said that once the "hot tapes" are sent to Lubbock, the turnaround time for delivery of the finished directories should be no more than three or four weeks.

This includes proofreading time required to insure that students who have filed a privacy request form with the registrar's office are not listed.

Cigler said this year's directory will not list home addresses and phone numbers for faculty and staff.

The cost to produce the directory, a service contracted to G. V. Publications in Lubbock, is offset by revenue from advertising space, sold by the same company.

"It saves the university about $30,000 a year," Cigler said. "The good thing is, if they don't sell enough to cover it, they absorb the loss."

Gary Voyles, president of G. V. Publications, said despite the recession, the 1991-1992 UH directory was a profitable one for the company.

Voyles' company, which employs 39 advertising salespeople nationally, also produces directories for 50 other universities, including Rice and Texas

A&M.

Additionally, the company produces vendor directories for universities and telephone directories for retirement communities.

Ads sell for $600 per quarter page and $96 per two-line listing, and Voyles offers a combination rate for advertisers who want a spot in both the Rice and UH directory.

With 32 pages of "Yellow Page" advertising in the 1991-1992 UH directory, it appears that the publication enjoyed a potential gross revenue in excess of $70,000.

"If that were the case, I'd be in Mexico now," Voyles said.

One factor that impacts profitability is timing of ad sales and billing, she said.

Two salespeople canvass the Houston area between March and August, but invoices aren't paid until after publication. In that time period,some advertisers may go out of business.

To guarantee the lowest printing price, Voyles takes bids from three

printers in the Dallas area. Voyles said he has requested bids from Houston companies, but has found it is less expensive to print in Dallas and pay shipping charges to Houston.

Lee Bench, new director of Telecommunications, was not available to comment on the production of the tapes, a service previously handled by Human Resources.

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21-YEAR ARMY VETERAN RETIRES FROM UH ROTC HELM TO PURSUE LAW, ORDER

by Adam King

Daily Cougar Staff

After 21 years of service Lt. Col. Robert Shaffer is retiring from the Army.

In a change-of-command ceremony that will mark his exit, scheduled to take place Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. in Rm. 180, Melcher Hall, Shaffer will leave his post as professor of military science and head of the ROTC at UH.

He will be replaced by Lt. Col. Arthur T. Stemmermann Jr., who was transferred from Heidelberg, Germany, where he was the Chief of the War Plans Branch, Plans Division, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, United States Army, Europe.

Shaffer, a Texas native, came to UH three years ago after a teaching stint at the U.S. Army School of the Americas in Fort Benning, Ga.

While in Georgia, he graduated from airborne school and became ranger and special forces qualified.

Shaffer said UH was not on the list of places he was to be transferred, and the news came as a total surprise.

"When told of the new assignment I said, 'Where?'," Shaffer remembered, smiling. "In retrospect, I'm glad I didn't get the assignment at either Trinity University or Texas Tech...because (Houston) allowed me to experience a new community and a new situation."

Shaffer received a B.A. in mathematics from Texas Tech and lived in San Antonio, where Trinity is located, much of his early life. He obtained a law degree from the University of Detroit School of Law in 1985.

He sees his time spent at UH as worthwhile and hopes the taxpayers who pay his salary see it the same way.

"The great majority of lieutenants in my yearbook didn't make lieutenant colonel," Shaffer said. "I'm confident that I've been productive and effective enough to justify my usefulness."

Shaffer emphasized the accomplishments he and his staff achieved as proof.

"One, we brought the ROTC commissioning courses more in line with Army doctrine. The second thing is we added electives...that would be useful and fun to the general student population (such as unarmed self-defense, basic mountaineering, orienteering and physical education)," Shaffer said. "The third thing we did was to make our cadets more aware of the benefits of physical fitness.

"Two out of the last three years, UH cadets have had the highest physical fitness scores at (advanced) camp."

At 44, his decision to retire outweighed the challenge of continuing his military career.

"I don't want to wait until my fifties to start a new profession," he said. "I'm a single parent, and I think it's time to settle down and provide more of a stable environment for my kids."

Once the change of command is complete, Shaffer plans to move to San Antonio where he and his brother will begin a general and trial law practice handling criminal and civil suits.

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HURRICANE ANDREW LEAVES COLLEGE CAMPUSES ASUNDER

Katherine Bui

Daily Cougar Staff

The major universities in Louisiana were spared the devastation Hurricane Andrew caused at Florida's higher learning institutions.

Andrew touched Louisiana's southeastern coast on the night of Aug. 25 carrying 145 mph wind. The storm brought down trees, power lines and homes leaving many people without shelter. Although there were fewer casualties than Florida's devastation, Louisianians had little water, food and no electricity for 4 to 5 days.

The hurricane closed down several universities and colleges in the area but did not cause as much damage as the destruction it left behind in Florida as reported by the College Press Service.

Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, the largest university in the area, cancelled classes on Aug. 26 and remained closed until Aug. 31, Monday.

Garry Ballard, director of public relations at the university, said, "We felt we could not remain open after we accessed the damages. We needed at least 48 hours to restore the campus in some kind of order because there was so much debris."

In fifty buildings, the school lost about 1/3 of its electrical power. Forty of the 50 buildings on campus received slight damages ranging from shutters to shillings blown loose such as the metal roof of the music building and the agriculture/chemistry buildings. Some of LSU's facilities were also faced with minor flooding, but overall, no other damages occurred. Ballard roughly estimated that damages will reach about $200,000.

Telephone and water lines remained undamaged.

Most of the power came back on Aug. 31 when classes resumed except for the Department of Printing.

2,000 LSU students remained on campus during the storm, but none sustained any injuries. The food services provided regular meals for these students.

"We told the 5,000 students that was staying at our dorms that our facilities were safe. However, some of them worried over their families and left anyway," said Ballard.

LSU, which the Red Cross designated as the State Office of Emergency Prepared Service, held 600 to 800 refugees in their field house. Their affiliate, Central Plex, sheltered over thousands of other refugees during the storm.

Ballard said, "We've, luckily, come through this thing with everyone safe. Thanks to the physical plant, police, and food services, we are able to resume our classes so soon."

The University of Southwestern Louisiana at Lafayette faired better than its counter part even though the college stood 15 miles from the eye of the storm.

Although no permanent structural damages occurred, many trees were knocked down. A pecan tree pierced through the roof of the two-story international students' building, and the athletic bleaches were twisted and turned over during the hurricane.

Julie Dronet, the director of public relations at USL, said that the main problem lay in the electrical failure. The school closed its doors during the afternoon of Aug. 25 and remained shut until Aug. 31.

1,000 students stayed in the dorms during the hurricane and food services were maintained for all their needs.

The university also supplied shelter to the St. Mary and New Iberian parishes, the areas hit the hardest by Hurricane Andrew, in their Cajun Dome.

The administration officials of Nicholls State University in Thibodaux reported moderate damage in their campus.

The college cancelled classes at 6 p.m. on Aug. 24 and resumed its classes on Aug. 31.

Joe Bourgeois, the director of Physical Facilities, estimated a $600,000 damage to the 28 roofs on campus, the press box at John L. Guidry Memorial Stadium; the Stopher Gym basketball court; the Shaver Gym dance floor; the university's farm, barn, and fences; and the Ray E. Didier Baseball Facility. These areas sustained many roofs, windows, and water damages that resulted from heavy rain and gale-forced winds.

Although the schools express much concern over Hurricane Andrew's destruction, efforts to help the students on a personal basis are underway. LSU currently offers a program to aid students in dealing with their personal problems. USL promised shelter and food to the students who need it while making study rooms accessible for students without electricity.

Universities and colleges throughout South Florida assessed damages and tried to determine when schools could open after Hurricane Andrew took a deadly swipe across the state Aug. 24.

The hurricane smashed into Miami at 5:01 a.m., EDT, roared through the southern part of the state and exited into the Gulf of Mexico south of Naples, Fla.

The storm left at least 15 people dead -- 12 in Florida and three in the Bahamas -- heavily damaged buildings, flooded roads and left thousands of evacuees wondering when they could return home. Estimates of property damage are in the billions of dollars.

Hurricane Andrew also forced the closure of many schools in the region.

Classes at the University of Miami, which was to open its fall term Aug. 24, were canceled, a security officer said. There was little damage to the campus, in suburban Coral Gables, but school officials hadn't had a chance to assess the damage.

The hurricane's eye crossed just south of Miami with wind gusts of up to 164 mph. At least 400,000 people were without power. A spokesman at Florida International University, in south Miami, said the school was without power, and he did not know when it would be restored, but an official with Florida Power & Light said some areas could be without electricity for weeks.

Trees were uprooted, and windows were knocked out at Florida international University, but there were no reported injuries.

Officials at Florida International were attempting to get to a north Miami campus to see how much damage it received. "We haven't heard a thing from that school," a security officer said.

State officials indicated the heaviest damage was concentrated south of Miami, from Coral Gables to the farm community of Homestead near the Florida Keys.

Miami-Dade Community College, one of Florida's largest schools, received heavy damage at its downtown campus, a school security official said.

There were no reported injuries. School was supposed to open Wednesday, but school administrators hadn't been able to get to the campus to inspect the damage.

The downtown campus, which is comprised of three buildings -- the tallest is nine stories, the shortest is three -- suffered blown-out windows, downed trees and light poles that were knocked over. Security gates throughout the campus were knocked off of tracks, and the area was without electricity. The three-story building received the most damage, an official said.

Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton was closed, but officials couldn't be contacted because telephone service was out. Damage to Nova University in Fort Lauderdale, St. Thomas University in Miami and other colleges in the area was undetermined at press time.

On the other side of the state, an official with Edison Community College in Fort Myers said the school received minimal damage and that classes were canceled.

The National Weather Service issued a Hurricane Watch for coastal areas of Alabama, Louisiana and Texas.

Free soft drinks, cheap eats, 50 cent draft beer and the musical duo Trish and Darin will help chase away the post-summer blues in the annual "Cougar Kick-Off 1992" this Wednesday from 4 p.m. to midnight at the Lynn Eusan Park, behind the UH Hilton.

Everyone is invited, and the only cover charge will be a canned good for the Stone Soup Pantry or some school supplies for local schools benefitting Operation School Supplies.

From 4-7 p.m., food from Pizza Hut and Grandy's will be served at reduced prices. Campus Dining will accept board cards, hand out free soft drinks, and draft beer will be on hand for 50 cents.

At 7 p.m. a pep rally will jump-start the '92 football season. UH President James Pickering and Head Coach John Jenkins will fire up the crowd with a few remarks, along with cheerleaders and football players.

After the pep rally, radio station 97.9 KBXX "The Box" will sponsor The Legit, a R & B hip-hop group. Local folk-rock performers Trish and Darin will also provide entertainment.

Radio station 107.5 KZFX will also be on hand, and "there are going to be promotional giveaways," said Student Program Executive Director Benny Mathews.

The Council of Campus Leaders has made cross-coordinating of events more communicative and efficient between campus councils and associations. Organizations in the Council, which helped to put the Kick-Off together, include the Students' Association, Student Program Board, Interfraternity Council, Council of Ethnic Organizations, Metropolitan Volunteer Program, National Panhellenic Council and the Residence Halls Association.

The UH Alumni Organization and the Athletic Department also co-sponsored the Kick-Off.

Mathews was pleased with all the different campus groups cooperating in planning the kick-off party. "This is the first time all these groups have gotten together," he said.

The original name of the Kick-Off was "Back to School Bash," but many alumni felt the name would draw only students, said SA's Director of Public Relations Angie Milner. The Council voted to change the name to the present "Kick-Off," to send the message that everyone was invited.

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ADVICE ON BEATING UH'S INFAMOUSLY LONG ADD/DROP

By Jeff Balke

Daily Cougar Staff

It's that time of year again. The days get shorter as the lines get longer at the add and drop tables. "Anticipate that classes listed as closed on your schedule are still closed, so make sure to have alternates," Mario Lucchesi, the director of registration and academic records, said.

Lucchesi said this is good advice to any student attempting to go through UH's tedious add and drop procedure. "Another way to cut down wait time is to come at the time posted in the class schedule," he said.

Computers were used at priority add and drop in the summer, but regular add and drop will be the same as in previous years. Students will have to stand in line at tables and wait to be added to or dropped from classes by faculty members.

About 8,000 of the 18,000 students who went through priority registration went through priority add and drop. About 15,000 are expected to go through the regular add and drop procedures which begin on Monday, Aug. 31, and continue through Wednesday, Sept. 2.

"It is important for students to know that they can come anytime after their scheduled time on the same day," Lucchesi said. There is also a time set aside at the end of the week for everyone.

The budget constraints have not helped to make the procedure easier. "The add and drop procedure would be minimized if budget constraints were lessened," Lucchesi said. "No one would need to go because there would be plenty of class time available."

Fortunately, phone registration is on the way, which would include the add and drop procedure.

"We're preparing final bid documents now and we hope to have phone registration implemented by the 1994 spring semester," said Sharon Richardson, the associate vice president for academic management.

Richardson said the $250,000 to $400,000 to be spent on the phone registration will be taken out of the existing budget and would not affect student fees.

What those organizations want from you is simple: If you are 18 or older, you can vote. But to vote, you must first be registered. And if you are the typical college undergraduate, between the ages of 18 and 24, you represent a segment of American culture that is perceived as being not likely to vote or to participate in the political process.

So college and university campuses nationwide have been targeted by private and public interest groups to register students and to get them to the polls on Nov. 3.

"Students tend to feel left out. Candidates don't appear to be addressing issues that are of concern to students," said Becky Cain, president of the National League of Women Voters. "On the 20th anniversary of the right for 18-year-olds to vote, this group has the least percentage voter turnout than any other age group."

"Get them on the rolls, get them to the polls," said Mike Dolan, field director for the California-based Rock the Vote, a non-profit, non-partisan organization that has organized student voter registration drives nationwide.

Top issues that appear to be of concern to college students on the national level include the economy, the environment and abortion rights, activists say.

If students want to address these concerns, they must first register to vote, registration organizers say. That way, the can vote for candidates who most closely represent their ideals and ideas of what government should be, and what issues the representatives should address.

According to the Census Bureau, 26 million men and women in the 18-24 age group are eligible to vote, and approximately 40 percent of this group is registered. Among college students who are registered, 80 percent vote, said Jamie Harmon, president of the College Democrats of America.

"Many students don't feel they are a part of the American community. They don't have families yet, they don't have sunk-in roots, so they are not as politically active," Harmon said. "Political participation increases with age. We want to show students today that the political and governmental system isn't a joke."

The College Democrats are organizing a Victory Vote program on campuses nationwide, with the goal of registering 50,000 students this fall - ideally as Democrats. Having targeted about 500 college and universities in 15 states, the College Democrats plan to hold rallies, get publicity and have politicians from the local and national levels speak to students.

Tony Zagotta, national chairman of the College Republicans, said polls indicate the 18-24 age group favor Republican views toward government, society and the economy. His group will be working at the grass-roots level on campuses, and won't be using celebrities or rock shows to attract potential Republican registrants.

College Republicans will be going door to door this fall to get students to register or vote by absentee ballot, Zagotta said. He called the Republican's one-on-one approach a "tremendous opportunity" to get students to register in his party.

Dolan, field director of Rock the Vote, said his organization is also working at the grassroots level to get students to register. Rock the Vote was founded in 1990 by leading record labels and musicians in response to perceived threats to artistic expression. It has since been broadened to include voter registration, especially for young adults, Dolan said.

Musicians and movie celebrities will go to campuses and hold rallies to make students aware of the political process and urge them to register.

"Having stars and musicians involved is intensive. It makes voter registration sexier," he said. "Celebrities want to get involved, and when they do, it makes political participation a little cooler."

Rock the Vote has registered approximately 100,000 young people in the past two years, he said. What concerns young people, he said, is having access to "the system," or being heard by politicians.

"We have seen the basic issue, and that is empowerment and access to the system," Dolan said. "Many politicians don't want young people voting, since young voters have no patterns of voting and are unpredictable. That makes politicians nervous."

If a student goes away to attend school, he or she may register to vote in the town or city where school is located. However, the states have varying laws for residency requirements.

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COLLEGE STUDENTS MORE LIKELY TO GET AIDS THAN SOLDIERS

CPS - University students show a higher incidence of HIV infection than military recruits, said a speaker at the second annual Summer HIV Prevention Institute for Colleges and Universities.

"Studies show that one in 500 university students is HIV positive," said Carolyn Parker, executive director for Texas AIDS Network.

A recent survey issued at the International Conference on AIDS said nearly half of U.S. Army soldiers admit to hazardous sexual practices, such as failing to use condoms, the Daily Texan reported.

Although many universities in Texas have AIDS awareness information available through student health services, AIDS needs to be discussed in all areas of campus life, Parker said.

"The AIDS issue needs to be addressed in other areas, like history and English, because it's a phenomenon that can no longer be ignored in their writing and teaching," she said.

The number of deaths from AIDS already exceeds that of the Korean and Vietnam Wars combined, she added.

The AIDS institute was held in late July.

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STUDENTS CAN FIND GOOD JOBS, BUT THEY JSUT WON'T FIND ANY THAT PAY

CPS - The good news is that there are jobs out there for recent college graduates. The bad news is that the economic downturn has enabled employers to hold the line on initial salary offers, the College Placement Council found in its annual salary survey.

Another survey shows students are optimistic that they will find employment in a short time and expect beginning salaries to range from $20,000 to $30,000.

The council's July 1992 salary survey also found that some employers were not able to place graduates in positions they had been offered. The survey "shows that though the recession did not provide for an abundance of employment opportunities, not all graduates' employment prospects were affected by it, the Bethlehem, Pa.-based council said.

Broken down by major, the council's survey showed the ups and downs graduates can experience in beginning wages:

* Nursing: Graduates received starting salary offers 10 percent or higher than last year, up to $32,597. Allied health graduates' salaries jumped 7.2 percent to an average of $31,568.

* Civil engineers: The average initial offer fell slightly to $29,600. Offers from state and local governments for civil engineers rose.

*Liberal arts: Most disciplines lost ground, the survey found.

*Accounting: Starting salaries for recent graduates rose 2.7 percent to an average offer of $27,351.

*MBA graduates: Those with non-technical undergraduate degrees gained 2.4 percent for an average offer of $36,096. Those with technical undergraduate degrees had an average offer of $40,195, up 4.2 percent.

The survey was made of offers extended to students graduating between Sept. 1, 1991 and Aug. 31, 1992.

Meanwhile, a survey done by Philadelphia-based Right Associates found that despite the ongoing recession, college students expect a relatively short job search, with starting salaries ranging between $20,000 and $30,000 and a promotion within one to two years.

Right Associates surveyed 325 students nationwide during career seminars for the annual survey, which measures career preferences and goals, job search and career expectations and attitudes about future career advancement.

This year 65 percent of the students surveyed expect beginning salaries to top out at $30,000, and 5 percent expect to receive more than $35,000. There is some concern that these high expectations may be out of line with the reality of the current job market.

"It is important to ensure that students' expectations are in sync with the realities of the marketplace," said Stanley Tilton, president of Right Associates. "If they are not, employers will have a lot of unsatisfied employees on their hands."

A majority - 91 percent - of students are still optimistic about their future career paths despite the sluggish economy, and 75 percent expect to have the same or better standard of living as their parents, the majority of whom hold professional positions.

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ROCK THE VOTE: MUSICIANS DONATE TIME TO INCREASE VOTER REGISTRATION

by John Williams

CPS

From large organizations to small grassroots efforts, students across the nation are gearing up to get fellow students registered in time for the fall primaries and elections.

At the University of New Hampshire and 30 other colleges and high schools in the state, student volunteers working with Rock the Vote got about 3,000 young adults registered to vote in the past year.

"The goal of registering students in the state was to change the 'me generation' to the 'we generation,'" said Sarah Broadmeadow, a junior at the University of New Hampshire and who worked extensively with Rock the Vote in the registration campaign.

In 1991, the university's student senate voted to increase voter registration on campus. After getting in contact with Rock the Vote, it was decided New Hampshire was a good state for a test case of the registration movement, since it has a small population of approximately 1 million, and the largest school, the University of New Hampshire, has about 10,500 undergraduates. The program was expanded to other colleges and high schools in the state.

Student volunteers went door to door, and Rock the Vote coordinated bringing rock stars and movie actors and actresses to campuses to talk about the political process and registration.

"The idea was to blend music and entertainment with a push for voter registration," Broadmeadow said. "The psychology behind it was to put the party back into the political party so students can see they can participate in government."

Mike Dolan, field director for Rock the Vote, said entertainers such as William Baldwin and Sarah Jessica Parker spoke at the University of New Hampshire's main campus at Durham. Film director Oliver Stone appeared at Dartmouth College. Concerts also are planned for this fall, and volunteers will be contacting first-year students for registration.

The entertainers donated their time for the cause "to fight the whole conservative issue," Broadmeadow said. "It was a cultural identification so young people could see that people they respected were involved in voting and voter registration."

The program was not without its detractors, however. Tony Zagotta, national chairman of College Republicans, said his party's efforts to register voters - obviously for the Republican Party - won't resort to using rock 'n' roll singers and movie stars to help in the cause.

Rather, GOP volunteers will be mostly contacting individual students to try to persuade them to register. "We will be taking the grassroots approach, unlike Rock the Vote," Zagotta said.

However, College Republicans have a video designed to attract young voters. "It's a very MTV-like video . . . that caters to young people," Zagotta said. It uses graphics and employs a fast pace to "explain what College Republicans are all about," he said.

There are several organizations that will be sponsoring registration drives on college and university campuses this fall. The general election will be held Nov. 3. Some organized drives include:

* National Voter Registration Drive, sponsored by the league of Women Voters, Sept. 12-19. The league, along with other organizations, is having a "massive" drive to register voters, said Becky Cain, president of the organization. Although the voter registration drive targets all those eligible to vote, the league will focus on young adults, she said. "We are especially interested in this age group (18-24)," she said. "We have chosen to target them. They tend to feel left out."

*National Student Voter Education Day, sponsored by the Center for Policy Alternatives and the National Civil League, Oct. 1. Candidates will be able to talk to students about the election and issues facing the nation this year at campus fairs that will be coordinated by students. An estimated 50 colleges and universities are planning to participate in the event, said Burck Smith, a program assistant for the Center for Policy Alternatives. Voter registration booths will be set up at the sites, he said. Some of the schools participating include the University of Colorado at Boulder, the University of Connecticut at Hartford and the University of Virginia law school.

* "You Don't Need a Home to Vote" campaign, a national effort in which students are helping homeless people to register to vote and giving the homeless information about the political and electoral process.